Growing sales of the Campina Boerenland product range, which has been using exclusively organic milk since May this year, is leading to an increase in sales of organic dairy for FrieslandCampina in the Netherlands. FrieslandCampina currently processes 45 million kilos of milk per year on behalf of its organic farmers. By 2012, FrieslandCampina expects to be able to sell 60 million kilos of milk from these farmers.

Since May, milk from dairy farms operating organically has been used as the basis for virtually the whole of the Campina Boerenland product range. Through Campina Boerenland, FrieslandCampina is catering for consumers who prefer dairy with an authentic character and a rich, pure taste. The EKO organic farming certification mark may not be prominently displayed on the packaging, but the fact that Campina Boerenland is prepared using organic milk underlines the authentic character and flavour of these products. ‘Now that Campina Boerenland has opted for organic, demand for organic milk has gone up,’ says Eric Schut, Managing Director of FrieslandCampina Dagvers, the operating company responsible for the group’s daily fresh dairy product activities in the Netherlands and its organic dairy activities. Many supermarkets in the Netherlands stock the Campina Boerenland range. It’s also widely available in the ‘out of home’ segment, such as staff canteens and petrol and railway stations. FrieslandCampina is also marketing organic milk through its Zuiver Zuivel [Purer Dairy] brand in health food stores, another key sales outlet for organic dairy in the Netherlands. ‘Our broad distribution naturally promotes availability and hence boosts sales.’

Dairy farmers go organic FrieslandCampina’s growing sales of organic dairy are creating opportunities for dairy farmers to switch to organic production. Schut anticipates a growth in the organic milk stream from 45 million kilos at present to around 60 million kilos in 2012. ‘Approximately 130 dairy farmers currently produce organic milk for FrieslandCampina. This year they’ll be joined by eight new producers. A further nine will come on stream in 2011.’ And there will still be room for newcomers beyond this time. Switching over to organic production takes about two years. The biggest step involves halting the use of artificial fertiliser on pastureland.

Origin of milk can now be verified online The close connection between the product and its origin is underlined for consumers by the fact that they can now verify where the milk used in Campina Boerenland and Zuiver Zuivel comes from. By entering the ‘best before date’ and packaging codes on the websites www.campina.nl and www.zuiverzuivel.nl, they can find out which farms have supplied the milk used in the preparation of the product they’ve bought. FrieslandCampina is the first dairy company in the Netherlands to allow consumers to trace the origin of their dairy products. The online application is part of FrieslandCampina’s efforts to further increase the transparency of its products’ origins. The personal stories provided by many of the organic dairy farmers on the FrieslandCampina websites are also part of this drive towards a more open dairy chain.